*Please note that this review does contain spoiler information.*
Wicked Pleasures
by: Lora Leigh
Genre: Modern Romance
Hotness Scale: Sizzling
This is the first book I have picked up by Lora Leigh. I found it in a local shop for less than sticker price and said, "Why not?" Like most novels, I do not read the back material so that I can jump into the story without preconceived notions. Yes, I do look at the cover art as a general gauge of the story. In this case, I see a steamy scene between two individuals and expected a sexy novel between a man and a woman. That is as far as I wanted to delve before reading the novel.
The night was chilly. I curled up in my bed with my comfy, pink blanket and my reading light. I cracked open the cover and began reading. Within the first few pages of the prologue, the reader is pulled into a byplay between a very dark character named Cam and innocence in the form of the character Jaci. It is a very dark scene that has an urgency and intensity that pulls you in as a reader. What is very scary is that the characters at this time are aged 16 and 13 respectively. It seems like a very adult situation for someone so young; however, the author seems to create the right intensity and mood with this glimpse of past events. The character Cam is obviously struggling with something mentally destroys him. What has connected back to reality is Jaci.
When the scene ends and we continue with the story, we see a young Jaci being completely enthralled with the bad boy Cam, who has decided to become her protector. This is a very common occurrence with someone who has been yanked back from a precipice. He has formed an important bond to this individual character that leads to a life of obsession. The whole aspect of being attracted to someone in that mind numbing, forget everything else sort of way is a fairy tale only seen inside books and teenagers. Good thing that the author decided to start the characters off at the right age to fit that bill.
Jaci, the young, wild child, chooses to go to a party at the age of 21 where she is faced with the hardened, steel Cameron back from military leave. Like before, he decides what is good for her in a very controlling way and gives her a choice. Either she returns home to her parents' house or goes to his house for "everything." Her desire has catapulted out of control and chooses for her. She returns to his house only to be put in a situation without any prior knowledge between a rock and a hard place - Cameron and Chase.
I am no prude, nor am I lacking in sexual experience. But ANY person who actually cares about someone would, without a doubt, discuss these issues and choices before just throwing someone to the dogs. So, the scene as written is very, VERY unbelievable and quite disgusting. Not the Male on Female on Male (M/F/M) part of it. The overbearing, controlling man like Cameron who takes an innocent girl and pushes her into a situation simply because he cannot become emotional invested and refuses to be a grown-up and discuss the situation before sticking his prick in her mouth and having his brother lick her bits. Jaci did what any normal girl would do in that situation and run the heck out...even if she is entirely turned on by the proposition. The fact that Cameron refused to tell her is outrageous. What is even more outrageous is that the author is trying to make the reader believe that it is a normal situation. Obviously, it is not!
As time movies on, so do the characters. Jaci grows up and begins to grow her business and comes into some trouble with highly influential people who have the ability to destroy her reputation by just a few words. She is still obsessed with Cameron despite the fact that he put her in a sexual situation that utterly destroyed her confidence and trust in any partner for her future.
Cameron and his brother Chase become private investigators that have pulled, quite sneakily, Jaci back into their life by having their employer need her services as a designer. What Jaci doesn't know is that they are both there and wanting what escaped them prior - her...naked...and at their mercy.
At this point in the story, each of the characters are adults and fully aware of the situation. So it is not surprising to the reader that Jaci happily jumps into bed with both Chase and Cameron...as a virgin...who has had her whole sexual life to this point destroyed by the very men that are taking possession of her. From a realistic point of view, this is highly unlikely and quite scary that some man would be so obsessed with someone they 1) destroyed her sexual experience, 2) destroyed her ability to trust any lover, and 3) followed through with the obsession into their late 20's. All under the guise of protecting her from the "highly influential" people who threatened her. The story line and character reaction seems more out of a suspense novel than a modern romance.
There is no woo-ing. There is no romance. There is a little, man child posed as this strong, dangerous man who has no emotional depth despite being in the situation he was - used, abused, and raped. That is what is so bothersome about this whole book. Someone who was in that type of situation has two realistic ways of dealing - self-destruction and too open emotionally. Cameron is NEITHER!
So while the sex starts off steamy, they become quite stale with the same scene over and over. The characters do not seem realistic. At the end, I was quite disappointed with this book - sadly.
*Notice*
This is not a paid review of Lora Leigh's books. I received nothing for this review.
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